Fun With Numbers

Now that a number of orchestras have released their deficit/surplus information of the 2003-2004 season it is interesting to look at those figures in a different way.


For the 03-04 season the following major orchestras break down their losses or gains in the follow manner:





















































 


Cleveland


(deficit)


Milwaukee


(deficit)


Buffalo


(deficit)


Seattle


(surplus)


Year


$4,250,000.00


$2,900,000.00


$1,100,000.00


$303,000.00


Month


$354,166.66


$241,666.66


$83,333.00


$25,250.00


Week


$81,730.76


$55,769.23


$21,153.84


$5,826.92


Day


$11,643.83


$7,945.20


$3,013.69


$830.13


Hour


$485.15


$331.05


$125.57


$34.58


Minute


$8.08


$5.51


$2.09


$57.00


Second


$0.13


$0.09


$0.03


$0.01


In the average amount of time it takes for most people to read through this article:



  • Cleveland lost $6.63
  • Milwaukee lost $4.59
  • Buffalo lost $1.53
  • Seattle saved $0.51.

Of course, the way money moves through an orchestra isn’t anything like this but it does give you reason to pause and look at it all from a different point of view.

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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